Tutorial · schedules & Excel

Schedule out, Excel edits,
values back in.

Revit exports schedules happily and imports nothing. Here is the full round trip, including the part Revit leaves out.

The Parapet Link From Revit dialog: scope, category, a parameter list, the target Excel file and key parameter, with a dry run naming the Parapet ID column and the 14 parameters it will write.
The part Revit leaves out, as one dialog: pick a scope - a schedule works too - tick the parameters, and the file comes back with every cell in sync.

Export - the built-in way

Open the schedule, File → Export → Reports → Schedule. You get a tab-delimited text file that Excel opens. Good enough for reviewing; it has no Element IDs, so there is no reliable way to match rows back to elements if Marks are duplicated or empty.

Import - the part that doesn't exist

There is no Import schedule. Options are: paste values into the schedule view cell by cell (no validation, no block paste), Dynamo (Data.ImportExcel + SetParameterByName, maintained by you), or a link add-in.

Spreadsheet rows flow through Parapet Link - preview, map, validate - into Revit parameters, and back out. Excel · CSV · Google Sheets MarkFireDept D-10160Admin D-10290Lab D-103abcLab D-10430Ward D-10560Ward Parapet Link 1Read the plan first 2Map columns on headers 3Both values, every cell 4Push · Pull · Resolve 1 flagged 4 rows Revit model D-101D-102D-104D-105 export · review offline · round-trip edits back
Export with Element IDs as the key, edit anywhere, import with validation.

The round trip with Parapet Link

Export. Pick the elements (or just the category the schedule covers) and the parameters you want; save as .xlsx, .csv, or write straight into a Google Sheet. The Element ID column is the key - Marks can be messy, IDs can't.
Edit. Excel formulas, lookups, a consultant's column, whatever. Share the Google Sheet and let them edit live.
Import. Re-open the file or sheet in Link; the mapping is remembered. Validation flags wrong types, units, read-only parameters and missing elements per cell.
Push. One transaction, one undo, a log you keep.

Common jobs

FAQ

Can I import into type parameters?

Yes. Link shows which columns map to type parameters; a type value updates every instance of that type, and validation tells you how many.

What if someone deleted the Element ID column?

Choose another key - Mark, Number, Type Name - in the mapping step. Rows that match more than one element are flagged, not written.

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$129/year after the trial. Excel, CSV, JSON, XML and Google Sheets; Revit 2020-2027.

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